Delhi is buzzing these days about the construction delays and shoddy work that have put the Commonwealth Games at risk. The blame goes squarely to corruption and inefficiency. There are plenty of other sad sagas in India across many fields: the spectacular corruption of the flagship software firm Satyam and the fact that one in four public school teachers fails to show up every day, for example. What will it take to change direction, to restore a sense of decency, an ethical compass?
Noted Indian writer, activist, journalist and former business leader Gurcharan Das last week reflected on what he terms India's spectacularly bad governance at a presentation at Georgetown University. His book, The Difficulty of Being Good: On the Subtle Art of Dharma, has been a publishing sensation in India, and is just coming out in the U.S. He argues forcefully that moral action needs to be grounded in moral reasoning. He looks for wisdom to achieve that in Hindu tradition. "Moral failure pervaded our public life and hung over it like Delhi's smog," he says, explaining why he set out on this intellectual exploration of morality.
Das focuses his examination of ethics on the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. A story with some 3,500 years of history, it has similarities to other cultural sagas such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, Dante's Divine Comedy and Virgil's Aeneid. But, Das notes, whereas the other bards didn't dwell on moral issues, the "argumentative Indians" linger on each situation, debating what the ethical lessons might be. The Mahabharata is, he says, obsessed with questions of right and wrong.
The Mahabharata is an epic tale of terrible and futile wars between the children of two brothers of the Bharata family. It is full of rivalry, feuds, envy, altruism, sexual tensions, kingdoms, heroes and villains. It deals with the justification for war, and duty to the weak and poor. It is a thrilling tale with memorable characters: Arjuna, talented and successful, Yudhishthira, tortured yet taking the moral option and caring for those who suffer, and Queen Draupadi, a feisty queen who stands up for right.
To give a taste of the epic, here is one passage: "In this cauldron fashioned from delusion, with the sun as fire and day and night as kindling wood, the months and seasons as the ladle for stirring Time (or Death) cooks all beings: this is the simple truth."
The book's central theme is dharma, a complex word that conjures duty, virtue, and lawfulness. Dharma is, Das underscores, subtle and complex because doing good means navigating tough choices along the way. In the 21st century, many moral dilemmas resemble ancient tests, but with new dimensions. The recognition of complexity is a feature of the epic. Its earliest forms focused on rituals and prescriptions, but over time conscience came in. As the story evolved, the challenges of leadership and responsibility came to focus on weighing different obligations and making tough choices.
The epic is suspicious of ideology, and rejects idealistic pacifism and amorality. Its bottom line is a pragmatic evolution of reciprocal altruism.
Das has been criticized for seeking answers to India's moral challenges in Hindu spiritual traditions. Some said he might encourage right-wing fundamentalism or breach India's constitutional secular principles. He objects: "What sort of secularism is it that regards reading of Sanscrit texts as a political act?" Instead, he finds in India's rich spiritual heritage the foundation for an ethic of leadership and service.
The Hindu reform movement of Arya Samaj, to which Das's grandfathers belonged, advocated a return to the spirit of the ancient Vedas but also a modern, reformed Hinduism that drew on the broader spiritual heritage. In short, India has traditions that offer a grounding for the most complex and demanding of modern challenges.
Das argues that India's current failures show that prosperity and democracy are not enough. "Prosperity had indeed begun to spread across India, but goodness had not." He looks for answers in dharma, the moral law that sustains society, the individual and the world. Whether it is reigniting teachers' commitment to service or rooting out endemic corruption, the principles of leadership and commitment to the weak and poor of India's epic heroes found in the Mahabharata are needed today more than ever.
This post originally appeared on The Washington Post's 'On Faith' blog.
Ramnath Subramanian: Plugging the Integrity Leak: Business Ethics and Lessons from the Mahabharata
it is called by most america.
how will this third world come to america?
the masses carrying a cross wrapped in a flag.
the beginnings of it are now called the tea party movement.
as the nation declines more blame will come to the poor.
it is so bad now the tea party folks hate and blame the children of the poorest of the poor.
also they depise paying for the medical bills of children born with mental problems.
seems to me there was a socialist party in germany that was very upset over such things.
the religious right when connected to gov fascism is always the biggest threats to one's freedoms. always check history.
but hey they the tea baggers that talk to god daily maybe their god is telling them things such as to blame and reject the poorest of the poor.
ok this is ignorance defined. find the origin of that ignorance and a whole new discovery will arise in one's consciousness.
To call the world delusion and not illusion I think is quite forcefull where as the Yoga Vasista calls the world a mixure or confusion of the real and the unreal.
It points to why transending is the best tool to get out of the pot. ( Krishna to Arjuna )
Be careful not to oversell the Mahabarata as a guide to ethical conduct. The most repeted guiding principle in the book is 'Law, Profit, Pleasure". Hindu religion, and especially Vedic religion is VERY conservative. Your past lives define your persent condition, just suck it up and make the best you can of your lot. And my favorite - The way to most please the Gods and guarantee profit is to lavish gifts on the Brahmin class.
You need to understand more about the "Brahmin" class referred in that book. Brahmin class in those days used to be either in teaching or in worship which do not means non-profit activity in those days. If you read that sentence again with that background you may come to different conclusion.
Dharma (virtue is a better translation than "Law")
Artha (worldly well-being such as education, family, money etc.)
Kama (Pleasure or Enjoyment)
This leaves off the 4th aim... Moksha (liberation, enlightenment).
The 3 outer aims and enlightenment, the inner aim. This formula of the 4 aims of life is a very holistic approach, each of the 4 aims balancing the potential excesses of the others.
She had prayed to god for a husband who was clever, who was good looking. you get the gist
one day she was in the forest and the 5 brothers found her. they took her home to their mother who was busy washing dishes or somesuch. She had brought the boys up to share everything. she didn't turn around to see what they had found in the forrest instead said "just share it evenly amongst yourselves"
you guessed it, one brother was clever, another brother was good looking
careful what you wish for!
So although my husband is moslem, he is rajput first and moslem second.
seems although the rajputs who gave up hinduism as long ago as Akbar, the story of Draupadi and her 5 husband is well remembered. I found out the Tomar connection and my husband used it to great effect to heckle someone that bothered him who was bragging about being Tomar
I decided to introduce the class to the text related to Draupadi and then have a controlled debate over what sort of marriage was best, polygamy, polyandry or one spouse only.
Also, one could argue that Gandhi emphasized many traditional Indian values in his approach against the British.
"What do you think about western civilization?"
Ghandiji "I think it would be a good idea"
the theme is the same : we allready have in traditional KNOWLEDGE the tools we need
what mor eis needed is understanding and actualization
that requires overcoming action potentials in the brain which are gummified by stress ; ungunking action potentials , freeing up stressfree areas in the brain requires the essenc e of maahbharata namely transcendental consciousness [ TAO or Samadhi ]} experience
via TM
the drama in the mahabharat like the drama of comment is precisely from this stress and unstressing dynamics .
the battle [ allthough a real historical event 5150 years ago ] is allegorical of the wrestling with stress; in the core of mahabharata is the bhagavad gita which presents the key to soluton " nistraigunyo bhav'arjun " transcend the 3 gunas, Arjuna and then " Yogastha kuru karmani " established in Yoga [ unity consciousness ] perform action
http://calendars.globalgoodnews.com/vedic/10.html
However, I want to point out that Mahabharata is a real story and there are scientific evidences to prove it. There are scientific evidences of location and time ( date is 5000 years ago from Dr. Narahari Achar's paper) to prove that Mahabharata that it really happened. There are videos to explain these facts: http://www.vimeo.com/stats/video/14466776
Indian government unfortunately does not invest sufficient resources to find facts and let kids learn about its rich heritage while world is eager to know about the same.